[SOLVED] Oblivion errors

[polens]

We have been playing Oblivion the elder scrolls on this same machine for months.. actually on and off for a couple of years.
Saturday my husband played it, and all was well. Sunday my daughter used the PC, played wow, spore ect.. and then went to play Oblivion. It would not load her saved game. Any other game would not load and the game will crash.

Husband tried to fix it by removing mods and then unstalling the game.

To try and recover, I have shut off the pc, did a repair, tried to reinstall the basic game, no mods and cannot get it to play. I can get it to install fine, it seems, then once you get into the game and click load it will start the first
intro video then crashes. I get the oblivion has encountered an error and must shut down.
I have uninstalled and then installed it several times. scanned for spy, viruses. downloaded the latest video driver. downloaded the oblivion patch again. Crashes with or without patch.
I have gone through all the steps in the "read before you post"
other games work.

So Im at a loss as to what to try next.

System specs:
Windows: Windows XP5.1 (Build 2600) Service Pack 3
Internet Explorer: 7.0.5730.13
Memory (RAM): 3071 MB
CPU Info: Intel(R) Pentium(R) 4 CPU 3.00GHz
CPU Speed: 2929.0 MHz
Sound card: SB Audigy 2 ZS Audio [C8C0]
Display Adapters: NVIDIA GeForce 8600 GT | NetMeeting driver | RDPDD Chained DD
Monitors: 1
Screen Resolution: 1280 X 960 - 32 bit
Network: Network Present
Network Adapters: Broadcom NetXtreme 57xx Gigabit Controller - Packet Scheduler Miniport
CD / DVD Drives: D: HL-DT-STCD-RW GCE-8483B | E: HL-DT-STDVD+-RW GSA-H21N
COM Ports: COM3 | COM1
LPT Ports: LPT1
Mouse: 7 Button Wheel Mouse Present
Hard Disks: C: 144.3GB
Hard Disks - Free: C: 39.1GB
USB Controllers: 5 host controllers.
Firewire (1394): 1 host controllers.
PCMCIA (Laptops): Not Installed
Manufacturer: Dell Inc.
Product Make: Dimension 8400
AC Power Status: OnLine
BIOS Info: AT/AT COMPATIBLE | 01/10/05 | DELL - 7
Time Zone: Pacific Standard Time
Battery: No Battery
Motherboard: Dell Inc. 0U7077
Modem: Intel(R) 537EP V9x DF PCI Modem

:


Thanks for any ideas

[Indoril Nerevar]

Hi, and welcome to TSF.

Firstly, I'd just like to say that I think it's brilliant that the three of you all play Oblivion.

Originally Posted by polens

then once you get into the game and click load it will start the first intro video then crashes.

Could you please clarify this a bit for us? Do you mean that you get to the start menu, and you click New and then it crashes, or do you mean something else?

When you uninstall the game, do you delete all the leftover folders as well? If not, I would try that next. If you're wanting to keep your savegames, then make a copy of them before deleting them. There is a folder called "Oblivion" located in C:\Documents and Settings\*your username*\My Documents\My Games\. Inside that folder will be a folder for your savegames. You can copy the entire folder out (to the desktop if you like), and your savegames will be kept safe then.

Folders you will need to delete:

• C:\Program Files\Bethesda Softworks\Oblivion\ (or the path you installed the game to, if different)
• C:\Documents and Settings\*your username*\My Douments\My Games\Oblivion\ (if running the game from multiple user accounts, you'll have to delete for each account)

Deleting those folders will give you a fresh slate to work with. Once you've reinstalled Oblivion, do not copy your savegames back in - not yet. Give the game a try and see if it works. If it does, then copy your savegames back in and test again.

If you've already done all this, then let us know and we'll proceed from there. Otherwise, let us know how you go.

[polens]

Originally Posted by Indoril Nerevar

Hi, and welcome to TSF.

Firstly, I'd just like to say that I think it's brilliant that the three of you all play Oblivion.

Could you please clarify this a bit for us? Do you mean that you get to the start menu, and you click New and then it crashes, or do you mean something else?

When you uninstall the game, do you delete all the leftover folders as well?
If you've already done all this, then let us know and we'll proceed from there. Otherwise, let us know how you go.

Thanks for the welcome!
Yep, family that plays together stays together! =)
Sorry I wasnt clearer! Yes when I get to the start menu in oblivion and click on new it goes to the first in game video. Whether I let the video play or esc to by pass, that is where it crashes.

When I uninstalled the game, I did check for all the leftover folders. Got all you listed deleted. Even went as far as deleting it in the registry once. (that was suggested on one of the oblivion forums)

I did a clean install and no mods. We had thought to just start fresh since it crashed but did save the save games to add later if we got it working.
They play on the machine in question. I play on my own that runs vista.

[Indoril Nerevar]

I take it the Vista machine is running the game fine? Only the XP machine has the problems?

You seem to be pretty computer-literate, so I'll leave out details that you'll probably already know. If you need an explanation of anything I say because of this, just ask.

When was the last time you did a defrag on the XP machine? If you haven't done one recently, do so now. First uninstall the game, then do a defrag. After reinstalling, do another defrag (should be a quick one) and then try the game.

Also, try running the game in compatibility mode for Windows 2000 (the minimum specs say XP is required, but I just tested it then and it should run under 2000 just fine).

Originally Posted by polens

Saturday my husband played it, and all was well. Sunday my daughter used the PC, played wow, spore ect.. and then went to play Oblivion. It would not load her saved game. Any other game would not load and the game will crash.

It sounds like something changed between your husband playing on Saturday and your daughter playing on Sunday. Were any updates downloaded for Windows during that time? Were any new programs installed?

[polens]

Yes the Vista machine seems fine. Its the newer PC, mine and used also for business so Im more picky about what is put on it. Its not used quite as much for gaming.

Last defrag was about 6 months ago. I will try the defrag
as suggested.

I agree on the something changed between them playing or something crashed for her. She says nothing went wrong till she tried to go into Oblivion and load her last saved game. It would not load it, or any other saved game then crashed.

No windows updates..
but I think a mod was added or deleted when he was playing last.


Im a methodical sort... If I change something, I do one thing, test ect.. before I do lots more.

Husband will have me pulling out my hair, because he
has added a mod for example, then change settings for several more then not be sure what is causing a problem.

The last time he played he added a mod, Wrye Bash launcher I think, and changed a few things in Oblivion and his other mods for Oblivion.
After adding ect.. he played a long time and the game played fine, no problems ... he finished and turned off PC and went to bed.
kayla would have gotten up the next morning, surfed, played spore, wow and then gone into oblivion to play for a bit. She does not add or change mod or oblivion settings.

What I dont get is, if the whole game is removed, along with the mods, and reinstalled fresh with nothing added. You would think if a mod caused a problem. It would be gone with its removal.
It has me not sure where to start.

I'll start up the defrag. Going to bed.. late here..almost midnight.
Thanks for the help

[Tiber Septim]

Hi.

Few questions for you.
Are you using a HP printer?
Are you using any Nero/Roxio (Disc burning software) programs?

Also, try setting your sound acceleration down to Basic.
Go Start -> Run -> Type dxdiag. Go to the Sound tab and set the slider to the far left.

[polens]

The first part of the defrag went fine.
I havent reinstalled the game yet. I have a question about that in a sec....

On this XP machine its set up to use another non HP
printer on the network. Meaning in the control panel the non HP is the default.
I do have an HP printer/fax "all in one" on my network, its been hooked up as is for over a year now.
It does show up on the network as one of the printers
available tho

Are you using any Nero/Roxio (Disc burning software) programs?

No on the Nero/Roxio. It looks like it has other software for that, not used.

Also, try setting your sound acceleration down to Basic.
Go Start -> Run -> Type dxdiag. Go to the Sound tab and set the slider to the far left.

Okay I did that.

I will wait to install Oblivion till you have a chance to look at this post.

When I reinstall. Once I have the basic game on. Should I install the patch or not?
In trying to fix this the last few days I have tried it both
ways and in both cases same crash.

[Indoril Nerevar]

Try it without the patch first. If it crashes, put the patch on ad try it again. However, if it crashes before the patch is put on, it's likely it will still crash after.

[polens]

Originally Posted by Indoril Nerevar

Try it without the patch first. If it crashes, put the patch on ad try it again. However, if it crashes before the patch is put on, it's likely it will still crash after.

Did the install, then defrag, then tried it. It crashed again. just like before.
Just realized I didnt run it in compatibility mode for Windows 2000

I put the patch on, and changed the compat.. still crashes..

so... what might I try next??

[Laurie52]

"Oblivion encountered a problem" can mean anything. Here is the [ Bethesda Games Studio Forums>Oblivion:UnOfficial Technical FAQ" sticky Just in case something there may help.

I DO Know, some mods will conflict with others unexpectedly. Found that out while playing Morrowind. So when I bought Oblivion, I always made sure whatever mod I wanted would be compatible with any other one installed.

but I think a mod was added or deleted when he was playing last.

Some mods require another to work properly. Or a mod cannot be used if another is installed. Either way, you may have a crashed game. If one is deleted, then the other will not work...the game crashes. I noticed reading some mods "readme.txt", there may be a warning if a "saved game" has a former mod version in it that could cause this glitch. Or don't use "this one" if you have "That one".

Of course, Not every maker cleans their creation up after wards either.

You did not say if you had Oblivion GOTY or just "Oblivion" by itself.
The Shivering Isles expansion has a "weak" form of DRM ("Knights of the Nine" does not) However you would get a different message if there was a conflict about your Roxio or any cd burner software.

[Indoril Nerevar]

I think the main thing is to determine what changed between Saturday and Sunday. I would ask your daughter to detail her activities prior to playing Oblivion - something on your system has obviously changed during that period. If anyone else used the computer for anything during that time, those activities should be detailed as well.

We're looking for:
- changed Windows settings
- updates (for anything)
- programs installed/uninstalled
- files downloaded
- hardware changes (unlikely, as I figure you would have mentioned it, but you never know)
- network or internet changes
- new program(s) running

If you come up with anything that fits any of those categories, post it. If there's anything else you can think of that might be relevant, post it. If we can determine what changed, we should be able to change it back.


Also,

Originally Posted by polens

To try and recover, I have shut off the pc, did a repair,

Could you please clarify what you mean by "did a repair"? Thanks.

[polens]

I just asked Kayla for more info on what she did (she is 12 so one must ask very detailed questions!)
She says she played WOW for a bit, and that worked fine.
No problems, then she played Spore for awhile, again it worked fine.
Then she decided to go into Oblivion to play.
She tried the last saved game for her character and it wouldnt load, told her the save was corrupt. She clicked ok and tried the next save for her and it crashed half way into loading, to the "Oblivion has encountered an errror" She says she got back in, tried the next one down in her save list and it crashed right when she selected it. She says she stopped there and told her dad.

She doesnt recall any updates (I doubt she would)

We're looking for:
- changed Windows settings
- updates (for anything)
- programs installed/uninstalled
- files downloaded
- hardware changes (unlikely, as I figure you would have mentioned it, but you never know)
- network or internet changes
- new program(s) running

Between the time he shut down the PC sat night & her playing sunday morning none of this..

What Im racking my brain about is if any of this list happened while he played sat and before he shut it down for the night.

No hardware, no network changes for sure.
no window changes.

friday he downloaded wrye bash, something for python
(some mods use it?)
hmm I think it was thur or friday I let Mcaffee update the virus definitions and scan.

Just thought of something... EA downloader is part of spore. It runs in the background.

On the "did a repair"
I meant I went into error checking, for C:\ set it up to check for file system errors and fix after restart and restarted the machine.

If just shutting down the machine doesnt fix the problem, I will usually try that next depending on what Im having a problem with.

Friday and Sat I know Joe did alot of changing to mods, wryebash.


When I get the "oblivion has encountered an error and musts shut down" I have been looking at the details of the error report, trying to find a clue. It will list an error signature which doesnt mean anything. What is consistant to all the reports is the last part. It will list a file it will include in the report. I'll have to look it up

[Indoril Nerevar]

Originally Posted by polens

Just thought of something... EA downloader is part of spore. It runs in the background.

Make sure that is shut down before running Oblivion. Is there anything else that runs in the background that hasn't been shut down? Check the System Tray (right-hand end of the taskbar) and turn off anything that isn't required. Open the Task Manager (Ctrl+Alt+Del) and select the Processes tab. Right-click and select End Process on anything you can locate that isn't required.

Oblivion can be very picky about what is running while it is. On my system, I find that Oblivion lags if I have my network connection active while playing - I have to disable my network in order to play. So when checking your system, consider things you wouldn't normally consider...

By the way, great job with all this - you've been very thorough with everything, and it helps us a lot. Thankyou.

[Laurie52]

I just asked Kayla for more info on what she did (she is 12 so one must ask very detailed questions!)

Yep, have the same situation....;)

And, yep....you have to make sure you don't have any other applications running the background.
No Spore downloader,
No virus/trojan/spyware scanners (I make sure my AVAST is disabled before playing Oblivion)
No unnecessary background programs are running to take up RAM or cause conflicts

Here is the Bethesda OBLIVION : WINDOWS XP : ERROR MESSAGES FAQ page from the official website.

On the subject of mods, though. Here is the TweakGuides.com-Oblivion page about these and any possible problems. I have found this TweakGuides site very helpful in the past and you might find the information useful too. Like he says under "Installing Mods"

A badly installed mod can thoroughly ruin your saved games, so once again make sure to keep plenty of save points before installing a mod.

Did your husband have any problems installing Wrye Bash? Or some part of it? While checking out TES Nexus site, I read "Wrye" put a lot of stuff in this tool. It is a popular download but I read a couple of posts elsewhere that some players found it confusing after downloading and working with it.

[RockmasteR]

hello, may I add a solution?
download Revo uninstaller from my sig and use it to remove Oblivion, wait till the uninstall is done, and follow the on-screen instructions from Revo to remove all the game's remaining from the registry and from your Hard drive
that way you will be sure that you did a clean uninstall of everything, including Mods
(but please first backup your saved games if it's not located in the My Documents Folder)
after that, restart the PC and reinstall the game and try it

[polens]

Well I didnt get anything done on the PC today...kids on them both most of the day!

But yesterday I tried a few things. I uninstalled my Virus/firewall program and reinstalled it. It had acted odd last week, probably not related.
I also took off the EA downloader. Spore will run without it.
I took Oblivion back off and shut down a few things in the sys tray. BTW as far as I can see all the old mods and all traces I can find of Oblivion were gone.

Then tried a clean Obliv install.
Meaning, only the main game, no patch no mods at all.
Still the same error.

One thing I've noticed, but this may have always been the case. During the first start up, the game will look at the video card. It says it cant tell what card we have
and will use the medium settings.
It might be nothing.
I just looked in the options under oblivion and while it tells me that message when I install the game. It does see the card correctly under the video section.

The card is the same we have always have and since the game up till last week has ran fine, I dont think the card isnt good enough...

So.. just thinking of anything odd. The game has played fine for months, lots of changes, mods ect.. they dont shut down stuff in order to play, its not been a problem. But I have tried that.

I did have to redo my network today, it wasnt seeing the other PCs on it. But all of them could connect to the internet ect..

[Mcninjaguy]

what is your Anti Virus program?

that seems odd you had to redo your your network settings

[polens]

Originally Posted by Laurie52

And, yep....you have to make sure you don't have any other applications running the background. .

While this hasnt been the case in the past, meaning the kids or hubby doesnt shut them down to play and its ran fine, I have tried this for the install and to try the game.
Still the same error.. you would think that would help out. or at least to isolate what is wrong!

I will look at the link for error messages, thanks.
Some of the "help" there is frustrating...
like your vid card wont run the game, but it has for years..
or their only suggestion is to reinstall windows!

On the subject of mods. Im pretty sure the install of Wrye bash went fine. I let him put it on my machine too.
I know tho he mentioned how confusing it was.
He loves mods.. loves tinkering with them almost as much as he loves playing the game.

When it crashed, he decided it would be okay to start fresh
and redo the install and put on a few mods once the game was up and running. A way to put a good spin on losing all your saves eh?

My perhaps flawed logic is that if I take off the game, and all mods and all everything for it, saves ect... that it should reinstall "fresh" and work.
Since it wont.. it has me baffled.
under my docs there is a folder he saved.. it has the mods there, the zips for them.

[polens]

Originally Posted by RockmasteR

hello, may I add a solution?
download Revo uninstaller from my sig and use it to remove Oblivion, wait till the uninstall is done, and follow the on-screen instructions from Revo to remove all the game's remaining from the registry and from your Hard drive
that way you will be sure that you did a clean uninstall of everything, including Mods
(but please first backup your saved games if it's not located in the My Documents Folder)
after that, restart the PC and reinstall the game and try it

I'll try that..
But because the saves are dependant on mods, Im not going to save the saves... the plan is to do a fresh install and start over.

[Indoril Nerevar]

Your logic isn't flawed - that's the way it should work. It is very baffling that the error remains despite all efforts.

If RockmasteR's suggestion doesn't work, try installing the game in Safe Mode. (Restart your system, pressing F8 as it starts up. Select Safe Mode from the list when it appears.) Safe Mode will cut out anything that may be interfering with the installation.